The Walter Scott Anniversary Dances the music. Most of the terminology used is common to dance collections of this time, but some is not. It is quite possible that the teacher/deviser was using his own terms. Had he read the greatest contemporary writer on the country dance, Thomas Wilson? We shall never know. In this article I shall explain some of the issues we are having with their reconstruction.
Our modern preconceptions
Page 1 of the 1820 leaflet
2021 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott, the Scottish novelist famous for his historical novels. In Edinburgh in 1820 six country dances were published, all with a link to his recently published novel, The Heart of Midlothian. The Society has decided to mark the 250th anniversary by re-publishing the six dances in the 1820 leaflet, exactly 201 years after their original publication. In this article Jimmie Hill of the RSCDS Research Group describes the issues in their reconstruction. The initiative of Bill Clement In Scottish Country Dancer, Issue 13 of October 2011, I wrote of meeting the late Bill Clement and being shown copies of leaflets of dance instructions from the personal collection of Lord James Stewart Murray. Lord James, later the Duke of Atholl, was the first Chairman of the Scottish Country Dance Society and President until 1957. One of the more interesting leaflets in the collection was a set of six dances with the title The Heart of Mid Lothian, a reel, The Laird of Dumbiedike’s Favorite and Madge Wildfire’s Strathspey and Reel to which are added two Favorite Dances for 1820. All six dance titles come from the highly popular novel of 1818, The Heart of Midlothian. A copy of the leaflet also exists in the Special Collections Department of Glasgow University Library, hidden deep in a bound collection of old Scottish music.
The six dances The dances, all with their own music, are: The Heart of Mid Lothian, Madge Wildfire’s Strathspey, Madge Wildfire’s Reel, Reuben Butler, Jeanie Deans’ Strathspey, and The Laird of Dumbiedike’s Favorite – three reels, two strathspeys, and one jig. The novel is set in Edinburgh at the time of the Porteous Riots of 1736. Jeanie Deans, Madge Wildfire, Reuben Butler, and the Laird are all characters in the novel. We know that the leaflet was printed and sold by John Sutherland at his music shop at 9 Calton Street in Edinburgh, but we have no idea who devised the dances or who composed
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When we look at an old dance, it is easy to assume too much. When we read ‘right and left’, we think we know what that means, but the term has had several meanings in country dance history. Thomas Wilson, in his Analysis of Country Dancing of 1808, 1811 and 1822, is adamant that ‘his’ right and left is authentic, but it is very different from what we call ‘rights and lefts.’ Wilson calls this a ‘chain figure for four’ or ‘quadrille chain anglaise’. Another issue is that we have become used to very explicit instructions, but the dancer of 1820 was used to extremely cryptic descriptions, hence the need for us to consult contemporary dance manuals. The third issue concerns dance style and steps. Our sources give us very few hints about what steps were used in formations. Today we use slip step in circles, but in 1820 we know that a chassée step was used – very similar to skip change. Writers such as Wilson rarely described steps – he expected the reader to attend his classes to learn them – why give all his secrets away? – he was a businessman, after all! We have also become used to dance instructions where all the i’s are dotted and all the t’s crossed, but in the reel, The Heart of Mid Lothian, the last 8 bars are ‘Reel – or lead outsides’. The person calling the dance would make the decision on the night. Can you imagine the reaction if we published a dance with a grand chain as the last 8 bars – or a circle – it’s up to you! Where some today scorn the idea of calling a dance, it was standard practice in the early 1800s – and during a set of quadrilles it was not uncommon for each 8 bars to be called while the dancers were dancing – and in French!
Progression A common problem we have when looking at old dances is progression. Today we have a number of formations in reel and jig time which allow us to progress: the poussette, the allemande, the espagnole, set and rotate, set and link, etc. Dancers in 1820 had very few. The most common method of progressing was ‘down the middle and back’, which is why it is used in so many early dances. Instructions never mention stepping up. That is because there was a convention that as soon as 1st couple vacate top place, the 2nd couple step up. In leading down the middle and back, the 1st couple return to second place unless the instructions make it explicit that they lead back then cast off one place. Another unspoken rule was that, where possible, dancers finished formations in place on their own side – ‘proper’ as opposed to ‘improper’, ie on the opposite side. Finishing facing corners is never mentioned. The following six formations occur in the Scott dances and all differ from modern practice. 1. The poussette Our RSCDS poussette in fast time is a progressive half poussette; in strathspey time it is a non-progressive whole poussette. For the poussette Thomas Wilson is our clearest source. He describes both the whole poussette and the half poussette. They were not danced using pas de basque. Pas de basque was a setting step to be used on the spot. Wilson’s half poussette was not progressive. He also uses the word ‘draw’ for it. The couples continue facing in the same direction, moving round each other once and finish where they started it, not unlike the movements in the Hebridean Weaving Lilt and the Foula Reel, which both use a running step. Wilson’s ‘whole poussette’ is a circular figure where the dancers finish in each other’s place. It is perfectly believable that in 1820’s Edinburgh dance teachers were teaching the poussette using waltz hold. We know that around
